Biophysical Chemistry

 Biophysical Chemistry explores the concepts of physical chemistry and molecular structure that underlie biochemical processes. Ideally suited for undergraduate students and scientists with backgrounds in physics, chemistry or biology, it is also equally accessible to students and scientists in related fields as the book concisely describes the fundamental aspects of biophysical chemistry, and puts them into a biochemical context.

This second edition has been fully updated throughout with novel techniques, with a new chapter on advances in cryo-electron microscopy and exciting new content throughout on big data techniques, structural bioinformatics, systems biology and interaction networks, and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The book is organized in four parts, covering thermodynamics, kinetics, molecular structure and stability, and biophysical methods. Cross-references within and between these parts emphasize common themes and highlight recurrent principles. End of chapter problems illustrate the main points explored and their relevance for biochemistry, enabling students to apply their knowledge and to transfer it to laboratory projects.

Key Features:

• Connects principles of physical chemistry to biochemistry.


• Emphasizes the role of organic reactions as tools for modification and manipulation of biomolecules.


• Includes a comprehensive section on the theory of modern biophysical methods and their applications.

"Two prestigious authors, Maiani (physics, La Sapienza Univ. of Rome) and Benhar (research director, Institute for Nuclear Physics, Italy) have collaborated on this excellent work. The authors suggest that the reader must have a background in classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and relativity prior to delving into this work. The first three chapters give a solid review of relativity, mechanics, and Lagrangian theory. Further chapters discuss the quantization of the electromagnetic fields and provide a thorough treatment of the Dirac equation. Of special interest is the discussion about the relation between spin and statistics, a topic often omitted in similar books. Subsequent chapters deal with propagators and interactions of electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces. After a discussion of perturbation theory, the book considers discrete symmetries, including a subsection on the CPT Theorem. Weyl and Majorana neutrinos, as well as neutrino oscillations, are discussed in some detail in later chapters. The appendix presents a useful review of key aspects of quantum mechanics.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above."
?J. F. Burkhart, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, in the January 2017 issue of CHOICE

"Recently I had the great pleasure of reading a draft of Luciano Maiani?s book Electroweak Interactions. I praised the primacy of physical principles over formal aspects. The same spirit prevails in the present volume Relativistic Quantum Mechanics, which belongs to the same series. Every concept is introduced as a result of simple physical arguments. By following this book, students will understand the basis of relativistic invariance, that of the relativistic wave equations and the systematics of perturbation theory. They will get everything needed for the study of the gauge theories of particle physics and they will realize that this road points unmistakably to a fully relativistic quantum field theory. I understand that its formal development will be the subject of the third volume in the series. I have fully enjoyed reading the first two books and I am looking forward to the pleasure of reading the third one."
?John Iliopoulos, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris

"The authors masterfully guide the reader through the most direct approaches to constructions of relativistic quantum mechanics and fundamentals of quantum field theory and further to illustrative examples of application to physical processes. The material is presented with exceptional clarity and attention to subtleties of the subject. The book can provide a solid theoretical foundation for students aspiring to become experts in the field of elementary particle physics and can serve as a reference for students and researchers in other sub-fields of physics."
?Mikhail Voloshin, Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota